Rough Guide to UK Laser Clinics (Add, Comment please!)

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#41

OK, answers to the questions:

  • Sorry, I can’t remember the make of Nd-Yag at Bodylaser. I’ll post again after I’ve been to see them. I’ll go once more I think, and then follow lagirl’s suggestion of trying another laser if there are still stragglers.

  • The Cambridge Laser place’s other machines are Nd-YAG, Ruby and IPL.

  • We both have pale skin and hair which is dark brown but quite fine.

  • I’m estimating about a 90% reduction on my armpits. I don’t have a single coarse black hair there anymore, but there are some that have just been “stunned” by the treatment as the laser nurse put it and have turned into finer, lighter hair, a bit like my head hair. So it might be less than 90%, just that they’re not as noticeable now.

  • Given our pale skins, we looked around for somewhere with an alexandrite but can’t find any locally, whereas these two are both within walking distance of our house. Years and years ago when laser first came in, my partner had some sessions with a ruby laser which was pretty rubbish compared to the modern ones.

  • I think dfahey is being unfair on the website which says “[electro,plucking etc] which can be painful and time consuming or only temporarily effective”. Note the “OR” - it’s saying EITHER you have the pain and time cost (electro) OR have something temporary (plucking). So they’re not claiming that laser is the only permanent method.

  • At Cambridge Laser My partner was told to wait 8 weeks between first and second appointment for the legs.

#42

Ruby machines are VERY old and not made or used anymore. I’m surprised they even have it on hand. They basically can only treat type I safely, maybe II at most and even then, there is a possibility of burn. IPLs are generally not good for hair removal. I would be curious to know what model Yag both of these places have. You can probably call and ask. 8 weeks is absolute minimum for legs, it should be more like 10-12 weeks and then moving to 16 after a few treatments. Btw, laser is painful, in my opinion MORE painful than electrolysis, but it is over faster since you’re not treating hair by hair. Btw, at this point on your underarms, I doubt any laser will work. Electrolysis is best to finish on the fine hairs. I had to do that too. Those remaining hairs probably don’t have enough pigment for laser, even an alex. You describe both of your hair as fine and skin light, so I wouldn’t use a Yag on any of that hair. Yag really only works best on coarse hair.

#43

Cambridge’s website is very tricky. That’s not the way I read it. Sorry. The words “electrolysis” and “temporary” should never be mentioned in the same sentence. Shaving is not painful and time consuming. Laser and IPL are not the gold standards. Very sneaky and ambiguous language and since you are defending these slimey play on words, I’m wondering if you are affiliated with this place??? Words have meaning and their words are not accurate. You see, electrology is slammed in almost every laser website. The reason my rabbit ears go on alert is because many people do not respond to laser and they are left thinking, there is nothing left for them to do. Misinformation is harmful to consumers. Electrolysis has been and still is the gold standard for hair removal because it is effective.

I would also be circumspect about their use of an out-dated laser (ruby) and their time in between treatments recommendations. Red flags blowin’ in the wind everywhere,my friend, but I sincerly wish you luck.

Oh,please allow me to include the information in dispute:

[color:#FF0000]What methods of hair removal are available?

There are a number of traditional methods of removing unwanted hair. These include shaving, plucking, waxing, depilatory creams and electrolysis; all of which can be painful and time consuming, or only temporarily effective. Lasers and intense pulsed light (IPL) systems are now the gold standard method of hair removal.

How many treatments are needed?

On average 3 to 6 treatments are needed at 4 to 6 week intervals. [/color]

#44

I am absolutely not affiliated with either of these places.

I’m happy with the reduction I’ve got on my armpit hair so
I won’t go for electro because the odd fine wispy hair is fine - it was the stubble and pubic-style hairs I disliked. My partner has gone for electro to finish off her face, particularly the grey hairs. She goes every fortnight to a very experienced woman who can do one hair every 2 seconds or so. But she comes out crying sometimes from the pain :frowning:

I still don’t have a problem with the “painful and time consuming OR temporarily effective” part of the website. They’re not claiming that shaving is painful or time consuming, are they?
The “gold standard” phrase is some meaningless marketing babble, sure, and the 4-6 week frequency is indeed less than they told my partner in person.

Looking at the diagram on their website, they say ruby and IPL will catch the palest hairs, but pale skin types only. Since the ruby laser my partner tried 5 years ago had a pretty low reduction per session, I’m glad her hair’s dark enough for the diode. If someone opened up a clinic with an alexandrite laser on our doorstep, we’d probably be even happier, but Cambridge is probably oversupplied with laser clinics already.

I don’t want to be forced into taking sides here - I’m just reporting my own and my partner’s experiences.

lagirl, thanks for the tip about time between treatments - I’ll suggest to my partner she stretches it out a bit in future even if the nurse doesn’t suggest it.

#45

Thanks for sharing your experience. It’s always helpful.

Do you know what modality of electrolysis is being used? How is the skin reacting afterwards considering it’s that painful for her? Does she feel any hair being plucked (they should slide out easily after being zapped, without any resistance)? Has she mentioned the extreme pain to the electrologist? They can probably adjust settings, especially if her skin doesn’t react very well afterwards. You don’t want to overtreat the skin and cause possible damage that way.

#46

Getting a bit off topic for this thread, but anyway…
The electro is done by short wave diathermy and there have been no problems with scarring or skin reactions afterwards… just pain building up over the session. The electrologist notices when the tears start appearing and suggests a 5 minute break. I don’t think it’s a technique problem (the electrologist is very experienced) ut more that there seems to be a natural ‘limit’ of what she can endure, that can be extended with prescription painkillers and applying EMLA + clingfilm to the face an hour beforehand.
“Too many hairs,too little time!”

#47

Hey, whats is wrong with nurses,feels like every time I get new one. My best exp. was when I had my 1st treatment, got 2 nurses (right,trained one and one having first day of a laser training-all the time chatting about nonsense,deffinitly not about lasers). So booked 2nd one - asking for the same trained nurse, and how surprised I was after 5-6 weeks I got the one who was trained on me 5-6 weeks before!!! Is that what we call professional trained nurse (by the way never heard of any of them here in london who would be working in clinic/place (with lhr) for longer than couple of months.And it was one of the best clinics in london (deffinitly highest prices).
Then I went to Sk:nclinics in shaftesbury Avenue. Before u book in you need to give them you bank details and they charge you 25L,then u go there, for free appointment with nurse
Yhe nurse will try to sell u set of things you need (spray avenue water,aloe vera gel, sun block cream) for 25L
Then it comes to patch test which you have to have otherwise they wont book you for treatment (I already had some treatments with this type of laser before, but nurse told me I had to - pointless but well,another way to get the money heh and we dont get any choice)-another 25L.
Basicly spent 75 L for booking the treatment (lets call it booking fee :))))
Isnt it funny?
Where do you get all this nice, good nurses from?

#48

Certain chain clinics often have a high employee turnover. Many get trained right there too. It depends on the clinic you choose. That’s why it’s important to consider everything including availability of technicians when choosing a clinic.

You are paying money for your treatments, so try to take charge. When you book an appt, ask for the most experienced technician to be treating you and be firm about it.

#49

yeah, right, Ill ask them and they say they will give me the best one, but how can I check it??? U never get same nurse twice-they even put short note on this paper we need to sign before that they cant provide same nure for every treatment. And belive me I have been to harley medical group-posh really posh place where u can expect really good service for 800 pounds one session for legs, and same things…Other thing is that I am polish, my english is not good enough to argue and stuff, they know this too so it is not easy,anyway lets wait for results. Thanks

#50

I was wondering if anyone had used any clinics in the South East, Berkshire perhaps? I am looking for someone to treat my beard via laser.

Thanks,
Mogli